VA reform hits stalemate

When revelations surfaced earlier this summer that the Department of Veterans Affairs provided poor health care to veterans — leading to some deaths — a genuine scandal erupted and Congress promised to impose big changes.

But staring down the August recess, the effort to overhaul the agency is on the verge of collapse.

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The trouble doesn’t center on substantive policy differences. In fact, Democrats and Republicans agree on the core outlines of the bill. Instead, Congress is in the middle of another standoff over money.

Democrats and Republicans are struggling to agree on how to pay for legislation that could cost between $25 billion and $30 billion. That logjam is transforming the VA debate from one that united both parties to yet another fiscal fight, prompting the same type of partisan finger pointing that has become familiar after years of budget showdowns.

“They have walked away from it,” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said of House Republicans. “It’s unfortunate, because we had a strong bipartisan vote, and that doesn’t mean much to the House.”

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said it was “shameful” that Senate Democrats refused to negotiate with the House. He was referring to a decision by Senate Democrats to boycott a hastily called meeting Thursday of the House-Senate conference committee charged with finalizing a bill.

“Senate Democrats refused to even show up and discuss bipartisan solutions, preferring instead to talk behind closed doors. That is shameful,” the Ohio Republican said.

And despite optimism from the two co-chairs of the conference committee that Congress will be able to eke out a deal, senators in both parties said the negotiations are at a standstill.

“The pressure and all of this back-and-forth is because we haven’t been negotiating,” said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said the talks appear to be “veering away.”

Tension that had been bubbling for weeks exploded with a parade of Senate Democrats taking to the floor Thursday to blast House Republicans for suddenly calling a conference committee meeting. They said that decision was made unilaterally by House Veterans Affairs’ Chairman Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) to offer a “take-it-or-leave-it” proposal with just days left before a five-week congressional recess.

Miller responded by accusing Senate Veterans’ Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) of lobbing “grenades” at him through the media.

It’s a nasty fight with deep political implications: No politician wants to be seen as the roadblock to aiding veterans who were stiffed by the VA’s falsified appointment logs. Senate Democratic aides no longer believe Miller is acting in good faith; Miller accused Sanders of showboating with his refusal to attend the Thursday conference committee hearing.

Despite the nasty back-and-forth, somehow both Miller and Sanders say they are optimistic the conference committee can reach a deal before next Friday.

“I haven’t foreclosed on anything,” Miller said. “I have every intention of having something passed through both Houses by the time we leave. One week from today.”

“I am hopeful that we can come up with an agreement,” Sanders said. “I do believe that every member of the United States Congress understands what a terrible thing it would be to turn our backs on the needs of the men and women who put their lives on the line to defend us.”